It Follows Me
by moosmiles
Summary: The gang is back home... but is Jackson free? Rated for future chapters
1. Chapter 1

**It Follows Me**

Chapter 1

It was a warm fall day in Los Angeles, California. The gang had gotten home three days ago and were safe and sound... or so they thought.  
Melissa squeeled, hugging onto Jackson's arm as they walked around the park. She loved being home, especially since he was staying with her family for now.  
"Mel', I shouldn't be out here," he said softly in her ear.  
She shook her head, her long curly ebony locks bouncing on her shoulders, "Nonsense." She kissed him gently on the lips and smiled.  
"You're safe, as long as you're with us, Man," Nathan assured, his arm wrapped around Daley's shoulders. Daley's head rested on his shoulder with her face shoved in his neck.  
"Day', you okay?" Taylor asked, holding hands with Eric as they walked a few steps behind the other two couples.  
"I'm just tired," Daley assured, wrapping her arms around Nathan's waist. Nathan chuckled, pecking her forehead as she yawned.  
Abby raced by the three couples with Lex on her back, screaming "Run, Abby, Run!"  
"I'm running as fast as I can!" Abby exclaimed with a playfulness towards him, only she expressed to the eleven year old. She put him down and he hugged her. She hugged him back.  
"Awww," Melissa sighed, leaning against Jackson, who leaned down and kissed her gently on the lips. His hands wandered to the side of her head and she wrapped her arms around his neck, standing on her toes.  
Just then sierens sounded, Jackson pulled away from Melissa and took off running.  
"Jackson!" Melissa shouted as the police car pulled up close by the teens.  
Jackson glanced over his shoulder and before he could turn back, something hit him hard on the head.  
"JACKSON!" Melissa cried, running to him, but Daley and Taylor held her back.  
Nathan and Eric started to run towards Jackson's aid, but Abby stopped them. "No. We'll see him soon. He gets, by law, one phone call and we all know who that will be," she said wisely, picking up Lex and holding him.  
Everyone looked at Melissa. By now, Taylor and Daley had let her go as the car drove off with Jaskson in it. She stood there shaking with sobs as her nightmare had come to live and swallowed her very being.  
A soft breeze engrossed around them and Melissa closed her eyes as Nathan pulled her close. She wrapped her arms around him and soaked his shirt in tears and snot.


	2. Chapter 2

**It Follows Me**

Chapter 1

Jackson had woken up only moments after being dragged into the car. He looked out the window, his forehead pressed hard against it, and watched as his friends faded from his view.

He looked down at his lap and looked for his hands. He then tried pulling them in front of himself and found them bound behind his back. He was chained once again.

He groaned. Melissa was probably back there, crying her heart out. If not, cursing her mouth off, thinking he was an idiot.

_"I don't know where I belong anymore..."  
"You belong here..."_

Had she lied to him with those words? Had she only been there to make him hope for his dreams to come true? Was she a mirage? Something he'd only see, but never touch?

Jackson suddenly yerned her lips against his and the taste of her lips. Their bodies colliding together in the warmth of her bed when they made out the past night. Her sweat mized with his. Their bodies laying exhausted next to each other.

He then hung his head as tears fell from his eyes. Melissa used him. But she couldn't have. She was Melissa. Melissa --- the sweet, innocent, smart, optomistic, encoraging, peaceable girl everyone loved. She couldn't... could she.

He was soon escorted out of the car and taken inside the jail house. A place he had been to one too many times in his life. THe officer with him, threw him into a cell after snapping off the cuffs.

Jackson huffed as he hit the hard floor. He touched his aching lip and when he pulled his hand away, he saw drips of blood on the tips of his finger. He grunted, sitting down on the bench that was bolted to the wall.

After twenty minutes of silence and a thoughtless mind, the cell door opened and he was dragged out to a phone.

"One call," the officer said harshly and walked away. Jackson rubbed his wrists before picking up the phone and dialed the only number he could think of... Melissa's.


	3. Chapter 3

**It Follows Me**

Chapter 3

_A/N: I really don't like this chapter and am thinking about redoing it. The song is "The Scientist" by Coldplay._

Melissa stared at her phone on her dresser as it rang. She lay on her side in bed, thinking about all that had happened over the period of the past year. She gasped through her tears as she trembled in her bed.

She finally picked up the phone and cried, "Hello?"

"Melissa..."

She heard Jackson's voice and panicked, hanging up. She threw her phone at the wall, hoping it would shatter into a million pieces like her heart; to no avail.

She turned on her CD player to Coldplay and switched to her favorite song, "The Scientist" putting it on repeat.

_Come up to meet you, tell you I'm sorry  
You don't know how lovely you are  
I had to find you  
Tell you I need you  
Tell you I set you apart_

Melissa ran to her closet and pulled out one of her old blankets, throwing it out of her floor. She searched her desk and cut one, midum strip of cloth. She got on her bed, tying it to her fan which hung overhead.

She searched through her drawers, looking for paper. She sighed, just grabbing her diary and started writing in it. She pulled her page out and taped it to the front of her door. Once that was done with, she tied the cloth tightly around her neck.

_Tell me your secrets  
And ask me your questions  
Oh let's go back to the start  
Running in circles  
Coming up tails  
Heads on a silence apart_

Nathan walked up the stairs to Melissa's room. He saw the stationary on her door. Instead of reading it, he flung her door open. He stood there in shock. Therre in front of him was Melissa, hanging from the ceiling fan of her room.

He raced to her and cut her down with the scissors on her nightstand. He pulled her into his arms off the floor and placed his head on her heart to see if she was still breathing. Luckily, she was. He kissed her forhead, cupping her chin in his hand. He pulled away and stared at her pake skin.

"Oh, Mel..." he sighed.

_Nobody said it was easy  
It's such a shame for us to part  
Nobody said it was easy  
No one ever said it would be this hard  
Oh take me back to the start_

After several hours, Melissa groaned, stirring in Nathan's arms. Her eyes slowly fluttered open. "Nathan?" she questioned and started coughing, rubbing her throat.

"Mel'," Nathan sighed in relief. "What the hell were you thinking?" he demanded. She looked at him and started crying. That's when he figured it out.

_Questions of science  
Science and progress  
Do not speak as loud as my heart  
Tell me you love me  
Come back and haunt me  
Oh and I rush to the start  
Running in circles  
Chasing our tails  
Coming back as we are_

Jackson sat in the cell with his head in his hands. Melissa had hung up on him nearly hours ago. He would never understand why; at least not the real reason.

He heard the door of his cell open and looked up to find Melissa running towards him. She threw her arms around him and sobbed. He held her close, rubbing her back in comfort.

Nathan stood in the doorway of the cell, watching them with a sad smile. He wiped his eyes.

"Jackson," Melissa said, pulling away and looking into Jackson's eyes. "I love you and I promise I will get you out of here, no matter how hard I have to push."

"Melissa, I love you," he said simply, tears in his eyes. She pulled him into her arms and he cried in the crook of her neck, "I'm so scared, Mel'. So scared. I didn't do anything this time... I'm so scared."

She rubbed his back, whispering in comfort, "Its okay, Baby. I know you didn't. And no matter what anyone says... I'm on you're side." She closed her eyes tightly to hold back all possible tears.

_Nobody said it was easy  
Oh it's such a shame for us to part  
Nobody said it was easy  
No one ever said it would be so hard  
I'm going back to the start_


	4. Chapter 4

**It Follows Me**

Chapter 4

Melissa sighed heavily as Nathan helped her inside Daley and Lex's house. She had her eyes closed and felt like she'd just faint at any moment after seeing Jackson. Her legs went numb and gave away. He then just scooped her up and got her to the couch.

Eric and Taylor were playing Dance, Dance Revelotion as Lex sat there sprawled out on the floor, eating popcorn and reading "To Kill A Mocking Bird".

"I hate this _stupid_ game!" Taylor explained after she lost again.

Eric smiled. "Told ya, Babe. Now give Sugar Daddy some sugar," he said cockily, pouting his lips for a kiss. She groaned, rolling her eyes and that's when she noticed Nathan and Melissa.

"Mel!" she exclaimed, racing to help Nathan.

"No!" Nathan shouted. "Just get Daley. Tell her we need a cloth, some water, a few pillows, and a blanket," he ordered.

"Got it," she nodded assuringly. "C'mon, Lex," she said, grabbing Lex's hand and they ran off to find Daley; wherever she was.

Nathan placed Melissa on the couch as Eric kneeled next to the couch by Nathan, who was on his knees as well.

"Is she okay?" Eric asked in concern.

"She'll be fine... She's just a little tired, I guess," Nathan sighed, placing the back of his hand on her forehead to check for a fever. "She's burning up," he muttered. "DALEY!" he called over his shoulder. Eric took Melissa's hand.

"I'm coming!" Daley shouted, followed by Taylor and Lex; all three of them carrying various items Nathan had asked for. Daley sat next to her boyfriend. "How high is the fever?" she asked, taking note of Melissa's flushed cheeks.

"I don't know. Taylor..." Nathan said, turning to the blonde.

"Are you kidding me? I'm already sweating," Taylor whined to her ex. He gave her a pointed look and would have yelled at her if she didn't butt in, "Fine! I'll go get the thermometer." She ran to the bathroom to get the other item.

About half an hour later, everyone was off doing there own thing. Daley was in the kitchen cooking dinner, Nathan was watching Daley with longing eyes, Taylor and Lex were playing some video game on the computer, but Eric wasn't doing anything normal. He was listening to the music Daley had turned on, hoping it would comfort Melissa and gazing at his sleeping friend.

_The sky glows  
I see it shining when my eyes close  
I hear your warnings but we both know  
I'm gonna look at it again_

Eric ran a hand through Melissa's long black hair and frowned. Her skin was paler than usual and consumed in a cols sweat. He placed the back of his hand to her flushed cheek to check how arm she was, only to find her warmer. He sighed heavily, dabbing the side of her face gently to cool her off.

He licked his lips and placed a gentle kiss on her temple. Her lips parted slightly and she let out a painfully slow moan, stirring a bit.

_Don't wait, don't wait  
The road is now a sudden sea  
And suddenly, you're deep enough  
To lay your armor down  
To lay your armor down  
To lay your armor down_

"She okay?"

Eric looked over his shoulder at Nathan and shook his head in response. "She's burning up... its all only getting worse," he muttered.

"What no quirky comments?" Nathan snapped harshly.

Eric shrugged, "Not when Melissa's like this..." Truthfully, seeing Melissa liked this made him want to hide away under a rock and cry, but he wouldn't do that. He couldn't. He just had to be strong.

Taylor sat next to him and placed her head on his shoulder, hugging him wanting and giving comfort. He just sat there, staring at Melissa and paid no attention to Taylor. Nathan took Taylor's arm and led her to Daley's room to work on homework. Taylor looked over her shoulder longingly at her boyfriend as Nathan took her upstairs.

_You get one look  
I'll show you something that the knife took.  
A bit too early for my own good  
Now let's not speak of it again_

Melissa suddenly started rolling off the couch, her eyes opening. Eric caught her as she started crying, panic overtaking her. She looked up at him, "Eric..." She held onto him as her sobs shook her entire body.

"Melissa..." he started. She cut him off with a finger on his lips and shook her head. He nodded, hugging her tightly. She held back just as tight, biting back her sobs in the crook of his neck. The two sat like that for what seemed like forever.

_Don't wait, don't wait  
The road is now a sudden sea  
And suddenly, you're deep enough  
To lay your armor down  
To lay your armor down  
To lay your armor down_

Melissa finally just collapsed in exhaustion, heaped in his arms. Eric set her back on the couch, tucking a blanket around her. She looked up at him and opened her mouth to speak, but nothing came out. He just chuckled slightly, gently dabbing her temple with a wet cloth. She smiled sadly, pulling his hand away.

"Cat got your tongue?" he asked. She nodded dumbfoundedly. "Let me try and loosen it," he insisted, leaning down. Both of them closed their eyes as they kissed each other. His tongue slipped into her mouth and she returned the French kiss, wrapping her arms around his neck.

_Don't wait, Don't wait  
The lights will flash and fade away  
The days will pass you by  
Don't wait  
To lay your armor down_


End file.
